Birdsnest bun today.  I'm wearing my Forest Fire LLsticks and I stuck one through either side of the ponytail so they'd be long enough.  It was a bit unstable at first, when I was pulling the hair behind the sticks, but after I wrapped the hair around they'e holding well.  The pointy ends of the sticks are visible but it isn't too bad.  Having another way to wear my shorter sticks is always great! 

I have to admit I tried tugging on the sticks before I left for work to see if someone could snitch one without my knowledge.     Yes, I am now offically paranoid.

My ends have been dry lately, and I'm not doing anything differently. ???  I washed my hair yesterday am and by evening my hair was dry and tangly even though I had used my usual leave-in.  Before bed last night I slathered on some aloe/jojoba mix and it's better today.  Still odd, though.  It's not growing, but it's drying out.  Yeah.  Thanks, hair. 

Wearing 2 buns today with my sushi sticks!  I whittled the tops of the sticks so they'd fit into the holes in the sushi pencil toppers, painted the sticks black, and stuck headpins through the toppers and glued the whole shebang together.  My hair looks like a lunch special. 

I"m trying out Aromaleigh's mineral makeup.  I have a hard time finding foundation that's pale with good coverage.  This is pale enough (some of the samples were too pale; I didn't think that was possible! ), but the coverage isn't as thorough as I'd like.  It looks nice, and I don't have the line of makeup around my jaw.  It doesn't come off on my clothes and it doesn't turn colors when it gets oily or sweaty.  We'll see how things turn out.

For the past 15 years or so I would grow my hair for a year, then go to the salon and have it permed and cut back up to my earlobes and start the whole thing over again.  I used the cheapest shampoos available at Big Lots, and only used conditioner rarely.  I'd tear tangles out of my hair and used combs teeming with seams, and when my hair bothered me I'd hack off a few inches with whatever scissors were handy.  My hair, on the other hand, grew wildly and would occasionally attack passersby if not properly restrained.

Now I'm nice to my hair. I give it Chagrin Valley shampoo bars, seam-free wooden and horn combs, expensive oils and shea butter, special supplements to pamper it.  I braid it at night to protect it and treat it gently, and what does it do to thank me?  It stops growing.    I was considering this last night and I have it figured out:  my hair thinks that it has retired.  8)  Think about it; years of harrassment and worry suddenly stop.  It's time for it to put up it's feet and take it easy.  No more work, time to rest.  I guess I can have the hair version of Social Security tell it that it hasn't put in enough time to get a check; that should spur it into action again.    The retirement theory also explains the grey. 

Anyway, my ungrateful hair has really enjoyed the aloe/jojoba mix.  I put some on yesterday and it was sleek and tangle free yesterday pm as well as this am.  My scalp is very oily today and the only thing I've done differently is I got off of my washing schedule:  I forgot to wash Sunday (holidays always throw me off) so I washed Monday am and Tuesday pm.  Maybe that was too much washing?  It's used to every other day.  Hmmm.  It's hairwash (and toner) night tonight and I'll see how things are Saturday.

Summer is officially here!  I turned on the AC yesterday, which sounds easy, but I have to empty the big Rubbermaid bin and attach the hose to drain the water, because the individual who built my house decided that a waterbed pump would be just fine and dandy to remove the excess water from a central air conditioner, and the pump of course broke after one year and darned if I'm going to replace it every single year so I sawed off the pipe and attached a leftover hose from the washer and let the water drain into a big bin and every so often I have to dip the water out and I either wash clothes with it or pour in on the lawn; then  I have to change the furnace filter which is size 18x20x1 and I've nevernevernevernever seen that size sold so I have to buy the 20x20x1 and cut it down which means I always cut my finger on the wire mesh and yesterday  was no exception and I'm not sure if I'm UTD on my tetnus shot or not  but the AC is on!  And it's 90 deg and 80+ humidity!  And I'm not leaving the house until September!  Or later!  And hopefully by then my migraine will finally go away!

Once I got back on my hairwashing schedule my scalp wasn't nearly as greasy or gunky.  So much for daily scalp washing.  Really, though, scritching and aloe/eo massage seem to help.  I also found another way to wear my shorter sticks:  I make a basic bun and fasten it with a full-sized chopstick, then on the other side I put in a pair of shorter sticks, set parallel to each other.  I really need a long stick to keep a bun up--with shorter sticks the bun slowly untwists through the day until my hairsticks are upside down.  Sunday I tried a stainless steel chopstick and my pair of Cherry Tea LL sticks and it looked nice.

Watched The Exorcist II:  The Heretic this weekend.  For those of us who watch bad movies on purpose, this is solid gold--horrible, horrible, hilarious film.  There was one scene where Linda Blair was wearing a half-updo (question:  didn't they have enough money in the budget to buy the poor child a bra?  It (or should I say they) was distracting)  that looked like the just the top of the hair was up in a french twist.  I didn't get a good look at the back of her head to see how it was done.  It was pretty.  I tried to make a half-twist on myself but it didn't work.  Sigh.  Oh well.  At least I have a bra. 

I have a giant wad of hair on my head and it is trying to crush my skull.  I can't imagine why unless it wants to have a word with my brain.  I really don't like the way low buns look on me, plus my sticks tend to poke my neck, but it hurts to wear my hair up on my crown.  I'm wearing a double pony bun today and 2 weeks ago it didn't hurt, but today it does.  Since my hair isn't getting longer I can only assume it's getting thicker.    Great.  It's not nearly thick enough.

I'm afraid I won't be able to get to my goal of waist length.  It's hard enough now to balance updos, but with such a mass of hair what if I can only do a figure-8 bun or braid?  If I only have 2 choices for styling I might as well go back to a bob.     Of course then I can't wear my hairsticks, so pooh on that idea.  Not that I'm going to cut or anything, but I may have to choose between length and versatility, and that makes me sad.    Wait, something's missing....oh, it's a bridge!  Since there's no bridge I guess I can't cross it yet, so on to other matters.  8)

Let's see.....my splits have markedly decreased and my hair isn't tangling as much so I assume the damage from the evil, fiendish Scunci bar-rettes is gone, so that's a good.    With the supplements my fingernails are so hard I actually had a bit of trouble trimming them the other day.  If this keeps up I can give away all of my flatheaded screwdrivers. 

IT'S OVER, IT'S OVER, THIS #$%^#$$ WEEK IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!!

This has been the WORST week.  It started with dogs and ended with jury duty and I still don't want to talk about it.  I have to go to the post office tomorrow, but aside from that I'm not doing anything that could possibly be interpreted as constructive in anyway whatsoever.

You know, there are complaints about people not voting, but when you're punished with jury duty (on call for 3 MONTHS ALL BLOODY SUMMER LONG!!!) I can see why not.  

My ends are drier than normal.  It's hot, I forgot my ACV rinse this week and I didn't oil a couple of days so it could be any one of those reasons.  I put a load of aloe/jojoba on it this morning.  It usually likes that.  

Hair was still wet this morning, so I didn't make a bun--damp buns make  my hair tangle big-time.  I made a chopstick twist, then twisted the remaining tail and tucked it back up.  It needed a couple of hairpins to help hold it but it looks good.  Yay!  A new updo.  I"m wearing my Maiden's Treasures black hairsticks with the silver spider dangle.  Heh heh, spider.    I need a 7-8" stick to twist my hair up easily,  though I can use a 6" stick if needed.  Chopsticks are still best, hence the name.

I have got to get a camera.  And high-speed internet access from home.  I figure our little backwards slice of ruralness will get high-speed internet shortly after the sun implodes.  

Pondering the irony of using 5 different mineral powders, one sponge, 4 brushes, one moisturizer, lavender water, and 20 minutes to make my face look like it has no makeup on it.........................ok, done.  

Ordered a bunch of BPAL that will probably come in the end of August, so I have time to fill my account.    I've reached the conclusion that my wonky body chemisty, the same chemistry that attracts mosquitos from 3 states (seriously.  I've had mosquitos literally drown in the insect repellent I spray all over myself, happy to die for the chance of giving me West Nile  ) turns every scent but that of roses into baby powder.  Luckily I like roses.  I ordered imps (and a few 5 ml, unsniffed) of the rose-dominated scents.  I have a scent locket, but I dislike wearing necklaces, and it seems like cheating somehow not to wear perfume on the skin.  I might get some perfume base and scent my hair.  My hair soaks up scents like nobody's business which I why I try to avoid smokers.  Well, that and the whole lung cancer thing.

Got home late every night this week.  I've been neglecting the boys, and they let me know about it last night.  I didn't get to bed until late 'cause I couldn't pry the cats off of me.  Oh, they were purring and looking cute but I could see the evil in their eyes--if I didn't service them NOW there would be a 2 am fight, a 2:45 windowshade removal, a 3:25 am slurping/grooming session, a 4:15 bout with the jingly balls, a 5 am serandae while sitting on the headboard, a 5:27 lick between the eyes, a 6:10 foot pounce, a 6:36 stroll across the pillow, and a 6:53 whisker tickle coupled with incredibly loud purring 1 inch from my ear.    I originally bought my house so my dog could live with me and somehow I ended up with these fuzzy things, these vanguards in the evil army of the night.    I love 'em anyway.  I must be a masochist.

I am too sick to work but not sick enough to stay home.  I hate that. 

Saturday I was at Wal-Moo, as previously mentioned, and while there I thought "Do I have any DayQuil or NyQuil?  Who cares?  It's summer and I'm feeling fine."  Might as well have licked a petri dish full of bubonic plague.  I jinxed myself real good--Sunday afternoon I decided to lie down for a minute and woke up 4 hours later.  I knew instantly I wouldn't be working Monday.  I haven't breathed through my nose since Monday am and I didn't sleep last night because I can't sleep when I can't breathe through my nose.  So today I'm sleep-deprived and slightly loopy from the antihistamine.  I didn't use any decongestant today in hopes it'll work better this pm and I can be in a NyQuil coma all night.

On the plus side, I made my best french twist ever this morning, and decorated it with my mother-of-pearl  X-O from Precious Plunder, or as I like to refer to it, my hair bondage gear.  The pins are a little long and they poke my neck, so they stick up a bit on top and look like antennae, but I got a lot of compliments on it.  I'd like to order another one, maybe in goldstone, but I'm not sure how much longer my hair will fit in a french twist.  Of course, I don't how much longer the head protein will continue resting, so who knows?

Since I was sick today I decided to wear my green dress.  Dress is easier than skirt-shirt because I only have to find one clean thing instead of two.  It has a lace sleeveless underdress and an embroidered short-sleeved overdress.  The two dresses are attached at the shoulder seams.  This makes the dress full and floaty and forgiving of figure flaws.  (nice alliteration, no?  )  It also makes the d$%m thing nearly impossible to put on if either dress it twisted or slightly out of alignment, so it's not the best thing to wear if sleep-deprived, sick, or both.  I stood there in the semi-darkness for 10 minutes this morning turning it over and over and around and around trying to find an opening--neck hole, sleeve, buttonhole--anything!  I didn't have the brainpower to just throw it in the floor for a cat bed and wear something easier, like chain mail or body paint.   8) 

MMU update--the redness of my nose and cheeks has decreased, but my oiliness has increased, probably because the mineral foundation doesn't clog my pores like the liquid does.  Catch-22; more oil, fewer breakouts; or less oil, more breakouts.  Why don't I ever get fun choices, like more chocolate, less ice cream or less ice cream more chocolate?

Well, I think I'm gonna live, but I'm not sure I'm happy about it.    Typical post-cold reaction.  Maybe after I sleep for 8 uninterrupted hours my outlook on life will be rosier.

I left my hair in a bun last night and just washed the front of my hair.  It looks ok today, but my length is oily, so I put it up in a scarf bun so no one can see it.  I love long hair.   

List of my LL sticks:

Jewels Spiralstix
Strawberry Mint Duetstix
Marigold Garden Duetstix
Snowy Night Myststix
Butterfly Sky Original LL Hairsticks
Winter Sunset Geishastix
Smoked Spice Glimmerstix
Autumn's Colors Glimmerstix
Smoldering Embers Glimmerstix
Dragon Geishastix
Jonquil Fire Glimmerstix
Miss Scarlet Shadowstix
Moroccan Twilight Sterlingstix
Cherry Tea Sterlingstix
Vixen Glitterstix
Sparkling Heart Gemstix
Warm Glow Individualistix
Forest Fire Myststix
Gilded Sophistication Glitterstix
Spiced Rosaline Rapunzelstix
Dangerous Love Rapunzelstix
Bahama Breeze Rapunzelstix
Vampira Swingstix
Sparkling Fire Glitterstix

and on order:  Firestorm Holostix

I had a request for a pic of the cats.  I don't have a camera  , and if I did, I have no way to upload pics  .  Here's a quick description:  Bogie is your basic grey and black tabby with just a bit of white around his mouth.  He's 13 pounds and has big feet.

Rumpole is a 14 pound black cat with green eyes. 

Agatha P. is a long-haired pastel calico--orange and grey on the back, with white on her legs and belly and a white streak on her nose (she's reversible--tortie on the back and calico on the front  )  Her face is mostly grey with an orange spot around her mouth.  She's 10-11 pounds now.

Agatha insisted on coming in last night.  She's losing some hair on her left flank, so I'll probably have to take her to the vet Saturday.  Whatever it is hasn't affected her appetite at all.  I got home last night at 10, carried Agatha upstairs and fed her, then went back outside and fed Black Kitty (feral cat who I am trying to tame enough to get him to the vet--he has scratched the skin behind his ears raw and it's bloody and infected.  He's too smart for traps.  I put worm medicine in his food--maybe I could put some antibiotics in.  Or maybe slip him a mickey?  8)).  I loved on Agatha a bit more, took a shower and went to bed.  Bogie was feeling neglected so he slept on my foot last night, and Rumpole dealt with his feelings by pouncing on my head at 5am.  Bogie stalked and killed 12 Q-tips this morning, so the ears of the world are safe....FOR NOW (bom, bom, bommmm  )